Wonder Boy and Spooky Print

Wonder Boy and Spooky is about believing in yourself. It's about when you were young, you pretended to have super powers, so you felt invincible to anything that was hurting you. It's about a time when we wondered of the possibilities of what we were capable of creating. I want viewers to laugh, when they see the painting, remember playing with your animal or animals. I remember my animals being a part of my make-believe world, when I was a child. In 2012, I was in a MFA program at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, studying painting. At this time, I developed a series of drawings which were inspired by my interest in mysticism. The drawings were representational scenes about my first thoughts about God, or what I interpreted as God. Although I did go to church on Sunday with my brother and sisters, I remember feeling my happiest when my feet were in the dirt, or I was playing outside on a field of grass or climbing a tree, daydreaming in nature. I created representational scenes that interpreted what I considered my 'safehaven' or 'connection with the universe.' It was this series of drawings that created my 'aha' moment. I started researching myths that were part of our everyday living, those that still hold truth, and those that we question. Although drawing sparked my idea of mythology, I wanted to return to painting as my medium. I felt I would be able to interpret these subjects more clearly through the painting process of traditional french underpainting. I had been working in this painting process for many years and developed a style of my own with it. While creating the new paintings, I was influenced by the storytelling, dramatic compositions, and illuminated painting style of John Waterhouse. In this new body of work, I was exploring a more vibrant color pallet, scenes of reality and non-reality, and whimsical content. These new paintings are impressionistic and representational in style, but more symbolic. This particular body of work is reflective of my childhood memories and my love of romantic myths. Small paintings are on wood, larger ones are on paper and canvas. The paintings were created with both acrylic and oil paint. I would like to continue exploring mysticism. In a new body of work, I would explore myths, old and new, and how they affect my world in present day.